Otitis media with effusion is clinically important because the variable conductive
deafness it produces during early school years may impair the child
educational progress and because it is considered to be the precursor for all
forms of chronic suppurative ear diseases in late life. This study was conducted
on 50 children diagnosed as having chronic middle ear effusion
(M.E.E.) depending on full history (no response to medical treatment for 3
months), clinical and audiological examinations. Pure tone audiometry and
tympanometry were done for every child followed by myringotomy (with
detection of the nature of effusion) and tube insertion. Adenoidectorny was
done when there was adenoid hypertrophy. Tympanometry was found to be
more sensitive in detection of M.E.E. and its nature than pure tone audiometry
(which can help diagnosis of mucoid M.E.E. as it is associated with
greater degree of hearing loss). Application of tympanostomy tubes is recorrunended
in cases with type B tympanogram when associated with hearing
loss more than 35 dB. |
